Territories & D.C.

Homeschooling is legal throughout the United States. Each state is free to create its own legal structure for home education, so one state’s homeschooling laws may look very different from another’s.

Here is our summary of the homeschooling laws in each state. Select your state and see what the rules are where you live.

Select Your State:

Which state’s laws should I follow?

The law you should follow is that of the state in which you are physically present.

Why? When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws, and, in many cases, to the jurisdiction of its courts. This is true even if your legal residency is in another state and you are only living elsewhere temporarily (such as when active members of the military are completing a temporary assignment). Consequently, you could be required to comply with the home education law of the state in which you are temporarily located.

If you plan to live in another state for a period longer than a month during the time that public schools are in session, HSLDA generally recommends that you comply with the requirements for home education in that state. This general recommendation applies even if you and/or your spouse pays taxes, own property, and/or have employment in another state.

HSLDA members should call our Legal Department for specific advice about how state home education laws apply in their particular situations.

What do the colors mean?

States requiring no notice: No state requirement for parents to initiate any contact.

States with low regulation: State requires parents to send notification.

States with moderate regulation: State requires parents to send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress.

States with high regulation: State requires parents to send notification or achievement test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements (e.g. curriculum approval by the state, teacher qualification of parents, or home visits by state officials).